Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher, Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer at Diaspora Yeshiva, is not only a popular speaker and teacher, but also a dynamic thinker and writer. A student of Harav Yaakov Kamenetsky and Harav Gedalia Schorr, Rabbi Sprecher was granted smicha (rabbinical ordination) by Torah Vodaath Yeshiva. Prior to his current position, Rabbi Sprecher was a professor of Judaic studies at Touro College in New York. In addition to his duties at Diaspora Yeshiva, Rabbi Sprecher writes a regular column on various Judaic topics in the Jewish Press, and lectures regularly at the OU Israel Center in Jerusalem.
The Shofar- Bookends of Jewish History
Published: Monday, September 12, 2016 12:25:59 PM
Number of views: 1685

The Shofar is a very basic, natural instrument which, according to Halacha, may not be adorned with gold and silver. Its purity and simplicity, both in terms of its form and the notes it sounds, cut through the noise and BALAGAN of today’s world, calling the Jewish People back to the Torah.

The Shofar connects us to the key moments of Jewish History that define our destiny as a Holy People. When G-D gave us the Torah, it says that the sound of the Shofar was heard by all of the millions of people gathered at Mount Sinai.

The Shofar provided the backdrop for that unique encounter with G-D, which changed the course of Jewish History forever. As G-D revealed to us our mission and purpose as fulfilled by His Torah and Mitzvot. The great Shofar will herald the era of the Final Redemption (Yishayahu). In the Messianic Era the entire world will reach its ultimate purpose and G-D’s oneness will be acknowledged by all (Zecharia 14). Yishayahu states that when Mashiach comes, Nations will not lift up the sword against each other, and neither will they make war anymore.

Jewish destiny is thus bookended by 2 Shofar blasts, one at Mount Sinai and the other at the Final Redemption. The Shofar calls on us to see Jewish History in all its glory, from our foundation when we received the Torah, through to the coming of Mashiach, when world history reaches its goal. Often, we become so entangled in our problems that we forget who we are and where we are headed. The Shofar reminds us. When we hear its simple notes, we transcend all of the absurd complexities of our daily lives, and we reconnect with the basic truth of G-D and His Torah.

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